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at Reform Physiotherapy and Pilates Malahide

Stiff hips? Try these 5 simple exercises at home…

Thursday, March 1st, 2018

A common complaint we see regularly is people feeling their hips are ‘tight’ or ‘stiff’. Often people can get cramps/stiffness feelings in their hips due to weakness, inactivity or an injury. Also, more and more people are sitting for a long proportion of their day-this in itself can contribute to hips feeling tight. Try limit the amount of time you sit daily, giving yourself short breaks or trying to use a sit-to-stand desk where possible.

Try these simple stretches at home every day to see if they alleviate your symptoms over 2 weeks. If your symptoms persist, attend a Chartered Physiotherapist for a thorough assessment.

1. Glut stretch:

Lying on your back, put your left foot over your right knee. Put your hands behind your right thigh and pull it up towards your chest. Pull up until you feel a deep stretch in your left buttock (gluts). Breathe so that you relax into stretch. Hold for 30 secs and do x2 each side.

2. Adductor stretch:

Sitting up, bring the soles of your feet together and pull them in towards your groin. Let your knees fall out to the side or push them outwards with your elbows. Lean forward into the stretch to make it stronger. You should feel this in your groin/inner thighs. Hold for 30 secs and repeat x 2.

3. Hip flexor stretch:

In a kneeling lunge position, stay upright and lean forward on front leg. Try tuck your bum in under to tilt your pelvis back. Make this as wide as possible and stay upright. Hold x 30 secs and do x2 each side.

4. Hip internal rotation:

Lying on your front, with your knees together and bent up so feet are in the air. Let your ankles drop out towards the floor. Try relax to let them drop out as far as possible. You can ask someone to apply light pressure on your ankles to encourage them out a bit more. Hold x 1-2 mins.

5. Pigeon stretch:

On your front, tuck one leg in under you with the foot up as close to your stomach as possible. Stretch the other leg out behind you and lean down onto it. You can stay on your forearms, or let your head rest down towards the floor to make it a stronger stretch. Hold x 1-2 mins.